The Old & The New Plows – Even Soil Scientists Have Not Learned Our Farming Lesson Of Natural Fertility!

Our farmers – and agricultural scientists from Luzon, the Visayas, and Mindanao – have yet to learn how to farm so that the richness of the soil comes out naturally and welcomes the seeds/seedlings and grow them splendidly!

The old PH plow is gone; the new plow, called “rotavator” is here and now, and yet the new is being used as the old was – burying the fertility of the soil, out of reach of roots of crops!
(image sources: top, kahimyang.com; bottom, youtube.com)

No, farmers and farm scientists do not realize any of that! No, the farmers don’t read history; and no, the scientists don’t read old science either!

81 years ago, in 1943, American gentleman farmer Edward H Faulkner came out with his book Plowman’s Folly. I now quote history (undated, goodreads, goodreads.com):

It was on July 5, 1943, when Plowman’s Folly was first issued, that the author startled a lethargic public, long bemused by the apparently insoluble problem of soil depletion, by saying, simply, “The fact is that no one has ever advanced a scientific reason for plowing.”

I repeat: “The fact is that no one has ever advanced a scientific reason for plowing.” I am sure: There is no scientific reason for plowing!

“Soil depletion occurs when the components [that] contribute to fertility are removed and not replaced, and the conditions [that] support (the) soil's fertility are not maintained” (Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org).

Soil depletion = soil fertility depletion. Up to this date, we cultivate the soil so that its natural richness is buried: We plow the soil under (we think, “the deeper the better” – and of course, along with the weeds and/or crop refuse; that is, the deeper, the worse we bury the soil fertility! That is true in farms and gardens.

No Sir! The Australian inventor Arthur Clifford did not realize, and now the Japanese makers of the rotavator have not realized how much the rotavator can wake up the fertility of the soil if the machine is operated “knowledgeably.”

Almost 60 years ago, I came up with the best way to use the rotavator to automatically bring about that soil fertility that awaits the seeds or seedlings we plant on the field. This was proven by the experience of my beloved brother-in-law Ensor Casasos in my hometown Asingan, Pangasinan.

On 09 April 2024, I wrote “Fertilizer Zero Yet, Yields Zoom Yes!” (Yaman Rotavator, blogspot.com):

Am I dreaming?

Yes! I’m dreaming of a rotavator design that cultivates the soil and simultaneously and in the same rotary motion mixes soil and weeds and/or crop refuse into a natural plant fertilizer. The best natural fertilizer you can make with a machine!

By the way, “Yaman” in Tagalog means “Wealth” while in Ilocano it means “Thankfulness.” Either language, you are rich with the rotavator used in the way I discovered it.

So then I have come up with a project proposal to propagate all over the Philippines my concept of the Yaman Rotavator. I am now looking for a funding agency.@517

Why Is There No Nobel Peace Prize For Development Journalism?

 In 2021, Filipina journalist Maria Ressa co-won the Nobel Peace Prize with Russian Dmitry Muratov “for their longstanding efforts to safeguard freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia,” Berit Reiss Andersen, Chair of the Norwegian Nobel Committee said (08 Oct 2021, Rob Picheta, CNN Business, Champions Change, edition.cnn.com).

Ms Berit said. “… The pair are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.”
(Nobel image from youtube.com)

I say, yes, call attention to government errors or misjudgments via the free press – assuming that the reporter understands the development project completely first!
(journalism from gamma.app)

And I say it must be “development of communities” or as I put it, “development of villages” (note the title of the blog where this article appears: “Communication For Development Of Vibrant Villages,” blogspot.com).

Watch government: “The nature, objectives and the expected participation of social leaders and the people.”

Aha! Now I realize that neither PH Pres Ferdinand Marcos Jr nor his Secretary of Agriculture Francis Tiu Laurel Jr has a program of development of the agriculture sector of my country!

That lack or presence of a development program, consisting of any number of development projects, should be the first target of any development journalism.

That is why I am calling for a Nobel Peace Prize for Development Journalism – the journalist must first understand the whole of the program before writing about it.

Sad to state, but the Nobel Prize journalisms of Russian winner Mr Muratove and Filipina winner Ms Ressa had centered on the negative,  without first understanding, and stating so, the whole of the development project that they were criticizing.

Says our source on “Development Journalism” (Iresearchnet, communication.iresearchnet.com):

“Development journalism – a term referring to the role of the press in the process of socio-economic development...

“Development journalism was conceived in the 1960s at the Press Foundation of Asia (PFA), where Filipino journalists Alan Chalkley and Juan Mercado were concerned that news organizations were inadequately covering socio-economic development. Journalists were reporting government press releases and quotes but giving little attention to detailed analysis, interpretation, or evaluation of development projects, policies, or problems.” (my emphasis)

You have the right to interpret or evaluate a project, policy or problem – only if you know the nature of development it is meant for.

Not contrarian journalism, I want Development Journalism to be independently included in the consideration of Nobel Peace Prize winners!

“Development journalism, as conceived by the PFA, implied an adversarial relationship between independent news media and the government in which reporters offer critical evaluation and interpretation of development plans and their implementation.”

Adversarial? To that I say No! There is intellectual dishonesty in reporting if the journalist does not first understand the project, where it is coming from (Strategy), what it wants to achieve (Mission), and where everything is leading to (Vision)!

So! We need a Nobel Peace Prize for Development Journalism – to encourage governments to come up with real development projects that people can support!@517

My 3 Hopeful Aggie Dreams For My Country, PH – 1, Visionary Secretary of Agriculture. 2, Farmer Poverty-Minded Institution. 3, Organic-Maker Rotavator – “Rotavator X”

 I’m 84, an Ilocano, a college graduate of Agriculture, writer in English, and a dreamer. Recently, I have been dreaming for my country PH these:

1, For the re-appointment of William Dar as Secretary of Agriculture – for his visionary leadership in the Department of Agriculture.
(image from da.gov.ph)

2, For the millions of poor farmers of the Philippines to enrich themselves by themselves via inspired holistic agriculture.

3, For an aggie institution to produce and reproduce science that enables those millions of farmers to become rich and continue to be rich.

4, For the production of an off-the-shelf intelligent rotavator that by itself produces an organic mulch and distributes all over the field even as it cultivates it!

5, For the construction of a website for a poverty-conscious PH agriculture.

1, Visionary Secretary of Agriculture

I have only one person in mind – William Dar, former Secretary of Agriculture (SOA). As of the moment, Mr Dar is the only one I believe who believes in the indefatigableness of the Filipino farmer who will surely rise from poverty with the leadership & guidance of a visionary SOA.

2, Poverty-Minded Aggie Institution

Hereby, I’m challenging the Los Baños-based bodies (alphabetically) – IRRI, PhilRice, UP Los Baños – to pursue Regenerative Agriculture (RA). Because Sustainable Agriculture has so far sustained the poverty of millions of Filipino farmers!

As I see it, the economic formula for poor farmers to become rich is simple: very low costs equals very high returns (VLC=VHR). To achieve VLC=VHR, they should adopt any number of these RA practices:

(1) Cover Cropping, (2) Crop Rotation, (3) Farm Crops + Tree Crops (Agroforestry), (4) Green Manuring, (5) Intercropping, (6) Multiple Cropping, (7) No-Till Farming, (8) Organic Fertilization, (9) Ratooning, (10) Rotational Grazing, (11) “Three Sisters” Planting, (12) Trap Cropping, (13) Trash Mulching.
(lower image from understandingag.com)

RA includes all crops – biotech Bt Eggplant, Golden Rice are welcome!

3, Poverty-Minded Aggie Institutions

IRRI, PhilRice, and UP Los Baños – Any of them could lead the shift from Sustainable Agriculture to RA for the poor farmers.

4, Intelligent Rotavator (Rotavator X)

I have a personally proven setup for a rotavator to automatically produce an organic mulch and spread it simultaneously all over the field! It worked on my father’s ricefield in Asingan, Pangasinan, sometime in 1966 – my father’s field outyielded the neighbor farmers much, it was astounding. Of course, that is difficult to believe – so I am hereby inviting a financing institution or group to sponsor a 1-year project to develop that Dream Rotavator – “Rotavator X.”

For Rotavator X, I will need a project sponsor to the tune of PhP 1.7 million. That project will include as outputs (1) written reports of the trials, (2) digital recordings of those trials and their results, and (3) a book based on (1) and (2) and RA practices – the book will be printed as well as downloadable as digital copy online in the website “Rotavator X.”

I’m dreaming of happier days for PH Agriculture!@517

“Where There Is No Vision, The People Perish” – King James. The Filipino People Do Not Perish Because They Import Rice!

18 years ago, Cheryl Casiwan Launio asked (Jan 2006, ResearchGate, researchgate.net): “Why does the Philippines import rice?” “Where there is no vision, the people perish” – Proverbs 29:18 (King James Version). Seriously speaking: In the case of us Filipinos, we do not perish even if our President and Agriculture Leaders have no Vision, because we import the rice we eat! (images from researchgate.net, a-new-way-to-work.com/lander)

Truthfully, the Philippine’s Lack of Agriculture Vision = Lack of local rice adequate for the Filipino people!

“Where there is no vision, the people perish.” Got Questions Ministries says about it (gotquestions.org):

“Some have used this verse to emphasize the importance of vision in leadership. Without a long-term plan – without a vision – people are doomed to wander aimlessly.

“Of course, it is true that having an idea of where one is headed helps in getting there.”

Why does my country import rice or worse, “Why is the Philippines the World’s #1 importer of rice?” It’s because of lack of Vision & Mission of our leaders. PH President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr? in 2022, BBM replaced William Dar as Secretary of Agriculture – and BBM had no Agriculture Vision. (Read my previous article: “Again, If William Dar Were The Secretary Of Agriculture, How Good Would He Turn Out To Be Today?” (16 Oct 2024, Communication For Development Of Vibrant Villages, blogspot.com).

Vision & Mission: Jen Croneberger puts them excellently in their proper places in his article “Vision, Mission And Purpose: The Difference” (04 March 2020, Forbes Coaches Council, Forbes, forbes.com):

The difference between mission and vision is present tense vs long-range big picture.

I interpret that to mean these: Vision is what you want to achieve for your group in the long run; Mission is what you will do to achieve that Vision. You need both!

I see “Agriculture-Led Prosperity” was Mr Dar’s Vision for PH Agriculture. ANN says, “Dar Addresses Challenges In Food Security In ADB Forum” (28 Oct 2019, Author Not Named, da.gov.ph):

Agriculture Secretary William Dar… called for the proactive involvement of private and public sectors in addressing current challenges in poverty, food insecurity, and rural prosperity…

He also said:

To promote farm mechanization, increase the use of better seeds, provide low interest production credit, and offer training programs to palay farmers – a P10 billion-worth Rice Competitiveness Enhancement Fun (RCEF) was established.

Now I say: “Today, as the Philippines is the #1 rice importer in the world, let’s mobilize that PhP 10,000,000,000!

Before this article, I wrote, “Again, If William Dar Were The Secretary Of Agriculture, How Good Would He Turn Out To Be Today?” where I talk about Mr Dar’s “New Thinking” about PH’s Agriculture. The 2 Secretaries of Agriculture who succeeded Mr Dar did not have any new thinking at all!

Elsewhere, we are told by ANN that Mr Dar’s Vision is “A food-secure Philippines with prosperous farmers and fisherfolk” (Author Not Named, 12 Sept 2019, Edge Davao, edgedavao.net).

I earnestly request that BBM reappoint Mr Dar as Secretary of Agriculture!@517

Again, If William Dar Were The Secretary Of Agriculture, How Good Would He Turn Out To Be Today?

“Kamusta na Pilipinas?” (“How are you, Philippines?”) asks Atty Leni Robredo in a Facebook post. Below the image it says, categorically: “PH remains as the world’s top rice importer.”

No excuses! We have 1^st class agriculture institutions in the Philippines: IRRI, PhilRice, UP Los Baños – and we produce very much less rice than we eat!

How can the leaders of government – PH President and Department of Agriculture officials – face anybody with a happy face?

Surprise! I googled for
Philippines Agriculture "Main Problem" OR "Major Problem"
Exactly as you see in the above 2^nd line, word-for-word and quote-to-quote, and I was surprised with the news item by an unnamed reporter titled “Facing The Big Challenges In Philippine Agriculture” (05 June 2022, DA, da.gov.ph) – it’s my favorite Secretary of Agriculture: William Dar! How lucky can you get?!
(image, da.gov.ph) 

Visioning and Missioning. Not since 2022 when President Ferdinand Marcos Jr unceremoniously replaced Mr Dar as Secretary of Agriculture, followed by Secretary Francis Tiu Laurel Jr, has there been Visioning and Missioning at the DA. Not smart-enough leadership.

Rey Gamboa says, “‘New Thinking’ In Agri Still Our Best Bet” (13 April 2021, PhilStar, philstar.com):

Dar, who was appointed to lead the Department of Agriculture in 2019 … had espoused to reorient his bureaucratic machinery, mainly by introducing a new thinking in agricultural development to achieve food security and boost the sector’s diminishing contribution to the overall economic growth.

You need “New Thinking, Philippines” – World’s #1 rice importer!

His formula calls for a shift from the government’s heavy support of a few selected crops – mainly through subsidies on inputs… – to the overall improvement of the whole agricultural sector focusing on profitability and sustainability.

When Mr Dar was appointed by Pres Rodrigo Duterte as Secretary of Agriculture, former NEDA Head and now Inquirer columnist Cielito F Habito said (09 Aug 2019, “Dar’s Paradigm Shifts,”opinion.inquirer.net):

We now have a true and seasoned agricultural expert at the helm of the Department of Agriculture (DA) in the person of Dr William Dar, whose reputation precedes him. This brings forth hope that true change is coming in the sector that has been the biggest drag on the Philippine economy for far too long.

Secretary Dar espouses “new thinking” in his approach to managing Philippine agriculture, organized around eight “paradigms”:

(1) modernization of agriculture; (2) industrialization of agriculture; (3) promotion of exports; (4) farm consolidation; (5) roadmap development; (6) infrastructure development; (7) higher budget and investments for agriculture; and (8) legislative support.

It thus heartens me to see the five paradigm shifts our team had suggested to the department nine years ago finding their way into Secretary Dar’s eight.

PH – we need a tectonic paradigm shift!

I’ve known Secretary Dar for years, and I know he knows that his mission is to promote the greatest good for the greatest number. And even as his foremost constituency is our nation’s farmers, he is quite aware that, ultimately, he serves all of the Filipino people as a whole.”

Excellent! I say.@517

Do We Have An “Intelligent Rotavator” Invented Already? An Indian Reporter, Robin Kumar Attri Says More Or Less, “Yes.” I Frank A Hilario, Filipino Agriculturist & Journalist, Say “Not Yet”! “Rotavator X”

The rotavator (rotary cultivator) was invented by Australian Arthur Clifford Howard in 1912 (Engineering Heritage Australia, heritage.engineersaustralia.org.au), or 112 years ago. It was intelligent enough, as it replaced the moldboard plow, but I have been wanting it to be more intelligent than that!

Rotavator X. My dream rotavator is one that cultivates the soil and at the same time or simultaneously creates & distributes on the soil surface an organic mulch!

I can dream, can I?

Graduating with a BSA major in Ag Educ from UPCA (now UP Los Baños) in 1965, since then, I have been thinking of a literally “intelligent rotavator.” Today, Sunday, 13 Oct 2024 in Manila, I finished my nnth revision of a program proposal to produce “automatic intelligence in a rotavator” – one that is not described simply as “advanced.” Not simply as Indian Robin Kumar Attri describes it (“Mahindra Revolutionizes Indian Farming With Advanced Rotavator Technology... “(CMV360 Tractors, tractor.cmv360.com):

“Mahindra’s advanced rotavators enhance land preparation efficiency, offering durability, fuel savings, and smart technology. for Indian farmers. (top image from sg.images.search.yahoo.com, lower image from alibaba.com)

The rotavator I have been thinking of all these 60-plus years is more intelligent than all that!

(I will not go into details, as I have been hoping that I will submit a proposal for funding by a bank or group local or foreign.)

I have written about my personal experience with the rotavator; try “IRRI, PhilRice, The Rotavator & Lorenzo’s Secret” (27 April 2020, THiNK Journalism, blogspot.com). There I said:

I have a 55-year direct experience with the Howard rotavator in my hometown Asingan in eastern Pangasinan. That 1965, I was instructing the driver of the big tractor not to set the blades to any depth but just drive through the field, and because the Howard rotavator was heavy, it cut into the soil anyway…, which is what I wanted. My brother-in-law Lorenzo Casasus, was there at that time; in later years he copied the shallow cultivation with his Kuliglig hand tractor and rototiller (rotavator). The results? His neighbors could not match his yields even if they tried to copy all his methods – he did not tell them about the magic that his rototiller was doing.

Suffice it for me to categorically declare today that my Rotavator X must be designed so that it will automatically create that organic mulch even if a non-farmer would operate it!

Healthy thoughts – Once invented and certified to be such as the manufacturer claims, Rotavator X is meant to be multiplied and used all over the Philippines, especially by those millions of farmers who are poor. The automatic organic mulch that it creates will naturally enrich the soil and produce healthy crops that produce healthy harvests that produce healthy foods that produce healthy pockets!

That is to say, once invented, when Rotavator X is used by those millions of poor farmers, everyday will be a “Happy National Farmers’ Day”!@517

“Looking” – At 183 Candidates For Any of 12 Senatorial Positions In The Philippines. “Visioning” – Any Candidate With Vision?

There are 183 candidates for the May 2025 PH senatorial positions – vying for only 12 seats, or more than 10 candidates for each senatorial position. My Question: “Why is the Senate such an attractive place for public office?”

Dwight de Leon says, “Erwin Tulfo Runs For Senator, Says ‘Let People Decide’ Amid Dynasty Tag” (06 Oct 2024, Rappler, rappler.com). “If they all win next year, there will be five Tulfos in Congress at the same time – the three brothers in the Senate, and Senator Raffy's wife and son in the House.” (Tulfo image from verafiles.org)

Dynasty? I’m writing this not to directly counter popularity only as basis for choice but to offer advice on how to choose your Senator – use the candidate’s Vision!

Let us learn from Camille Villar (top image, PhilStar): “’Younger, millennial  perspective’ kaya kong ibigay sa Senado – Camille Villar.” Good girl!

“Younger, millennial perspective” – We voters should choose a senatorial candidate who has Vision – and Mission!

Vision: the candidate’s grand dream in serving the people.
Mission: what is to be done to bring about that Vision to reality.

My Personal Vision: As an Agriculturist (UPLB 1965), I dream of our country’s “Liberation Of 3 Million Farmers From Poverty”!

Mission for the Vision: Farmers assisted financially and technically in pursuing farming practices that are Very Low Costs=Very High Returns. That would require Regenerative Agriculture, which has this list:

(1) Cover Cropping, (2) Crop Rotation, (3) Farm Crops + Tree Crops (Agroforestry), (4) Green Manuring, (5) Intercropping, (6) Multiple Cropping, (7) No-Till Farming, (8) Organic Fertilization, (9) Ratooning, (10) Rotational Grazing, (11) “Three Sisters” Planting, (12) Trap Cropping, (13) Trash Mulching.

None of the candidates for Senator would know that very high costs that bring about very low returns is the main cause of the poverty of millions of Filipino farmers? Candidates, please: adopt A Pro-Poor Farmer Agenda!

I will give Mr Tulfo my vote if he can present a liberating Vision for his country, including my poor farmers.

Mr De Leon says, “The (Tulfo) brothers are already the frontrunners in pre-election surveys, so the likelihood of both winning seats is very high.”

Unfortunately – as things stand today, not one of the 183 candidates for Senator has a Vision and Mission for the country! My poor country the Philippines!

If elected, Mr Tulfo said he will prioritize legislation for the middle class. He says, “They are sometimes forgotten or often left behind because the government is focused on those in the margins. What about those in the middle class? What about the professionals, those just below the middle class, those working in fast food, sales clerks, security guards?”

“Maybe it’s time we also pay attention to our fellow citizens who aren’t usually noticed – the ones in the middle. Maybe they’re calling for higher wages, more benefits, and I will also introduce, if there’s a chance, retirement benefits for those working in the private sector.”

That’s Vision.

But I insist: “Senatorial Candidate, what is your Vision for PH Agriculture?”@517

“What Did You Do In The War, DevCom?”

“What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?” was the open letter I wrote some 57 years ago, addressed to the alumni of my alma mater, the UP College of Agriculture (UPCA, now UP Los Baños), belittling their “loyal” (if you will pardon the expression) observation every year. In that letter, I said the faculty & students of the 1918 UPCA who volunteered to fight in Europe where World War 1 was happening, thousands of kilometers away – were showing loyalty to the Americans who founded UPCA, not to the Filipinos. Ouch!

What did I get writing that open letter? A termination of my appointment as Substitute Lab Instructor in Horticulture! “Goodbye, UPLB!”

I was unhappy, but my being declared persona non grata to UPLB turned out to be the best for me! I had a wonderful chance to propagate my newfound field, “Organic Agrculture.” I had learned that from the book “Plowman’s Folly” by American gentleman farmer Edward H Faulkner, his book published in 1943.

At the Xavier University College of Agriculture (XUCA), happily approved by Fr William Masterson, Dean of XUCA, I produced separate syllabi in the 4 areas of Horticulture: Landscape Horticulture, Oliriculture (vegetabkes) Ornamentals, and Pomology (fruit trees), Based on my horticulture syllabi, with my organic lectures, I produced a winner of the world-class Right Livehood Award in 2003 in the person of Nicanor “Nicky” Perlas. (Since then, every time he sees me, he says, “Thank you for Organic.” How sweet is that?! I feel like I am also a winner of the Right Livelihood Award!)

Because of “What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?”, the observation of Loyalty Day changed from loyalty to the Americans to loyalty to the Filipinos, especially to the farmers, as it should be.

Today, yesteryears actually, the war is on homegrounds, War Against Poverty, especially the poverty of millions of Filipino farmers. We have so far failed them!
(Image fromdailysignal.com)

What I have not seen, what I don’t see is communication from the DevCom people dedicated to getting the poor farmers out of Poverty and getting them into Prosperity. That is a tall order, but that is what development communication is all about!

Time to learn more. Here is what we can learn from MassCom.com (studymasscom.com): 5 different approaches to development communication, and these are:
(1) participatory communication,
(2) advocacy and awareness campaigns,
(3) behavior change communication,
(4) media for development, and
(5) capacity building and skill development.

DevCom people, where are you in there, in any of the 5? I google everyday, and I don’t see encouraging signs from anyone of you! DevCom must be practiced, not simply claimed in one’s biodata.

In 1960, the first communication course in UPCA was offered; in 1974, it offered academic programs in Development Communication (Wikipedia, en.wikipedia.org). Today, 64 years later, I ask:

What did you do in the war against Farmer Poverty, DevCom?

Here’s hoping you will produce a million of winners among the poor millions of Filipino farmers, and someone will greet you to your face, “Thank you for DevCom”!@517

New Slogan To Celebrate UPLB Loyalty Day – “AI For IA” – That Is, “Artistic & Artisanal Intelligences For Intelligent Agriculture.” AI Enriching AI Enriching All!

10 Oct 2024 – For the second time in the last 57 years, I Frank A Hilario am interrupting the celebration of “Loyalty Day” of my alma mater UPCA (now UP Los Baños). The first time was on 10 Oct by explaining that World War I, for which the UPCA faculty and student volunteered to fight in Europe – in fact, the war ended before anyone could say, “Loyalty Day!” I said the volunteerism was proof of loyalty to America, which founded UPCA.

Result? The UPCA faculty condemned Frank A Hilario and terminated his appointment as “Substitute Horticulture Lab Instructor”!

Thank God, I survived, I was accepted as “Horticulture Instructor” at Xavier University College of Agriculture (XUCA) based in Cagayan De Oro City in Northern Mindanao, and am happy to tell you that one of my students at XUCA, Nicanor “Nicky” Perlas, won the international “Right Livelihood Award” in 2003. Yes, Sir, my organic-based Horticulture played a substantial role in winning that award, because Nicky practiced it in full view of the public – right in front of the campus of UP Diliman. (Sorry, UP Diliman people did not get the organic clue! Not even UP Los Baños!)

Today, Thursday, 10 Oct 2024, I am once more disturbing the peace of Loyalty Day celebration by proposing another universal change by way of observance – changing the nature of the festivities and at the same time suggesting that all of UP Los Baños reinvent itself!
(Image sources: “Smart Farming” econtroldevices.com, “Farming For All” sociocharge.com)

I’m working out a new slogan for UP Los Baños’ “Loyalty Day” –
“Artisans/Artists in Intelligent Agriculture for the good of All!”

No, it’s not based on artificial intelligence (AI). On the contrary, that slogan is based on Multiple Intelligences (MI). I call it Artisanal/Artistic Intelligences (AIs), the name itself running counter to the original AI – my recommended UPLB AIs is based on teachers & staff working for the universal good of agriculture – especially the millions of poor farmers!

This UPLB AIs is based on Harvard professor Howard Gardner’s philosophy of multiple intelligences (MI), where there are 10:

1. Bodily-Kinesthetic Intelligence (“Body Smart”)
2. Creative Intelligence (“Thinking Smart”), added by FAH
3. Existential Intelligence (“Life Smart”)
4. Interpersonal Intelligence (“People Smart”)
5. Intrapersonal Intelligence (“Self Smart”)
6. Mathematical-Logical Intelligence (“Number/Reasoning Smart”)
7. Musical Intelligence (“Music Smart”)
8. Naturalist Intelligence (“Nature Smart”)
9. Spatial Intelligence (“Image Smart”)
10. Verbal-Linguistic Intelligence (“Word Smart”).

That is to say, this teacher is now teaching his alma mater 10 ways of thinking in these modern times!

AIs is carrying out Romans 8:28 (NRSV): “We know that all things work together for good for those who love God” – invited to carry out Romans 8:28 are all of you people!

Recap on my UPLB Loyalty Day challenges:
10 Oct 1967 – Intelligent celebration.
10 Oct 2024 – Intelligent Agriculture!@517

Coming Up! An Actual Demo On My Kind Of Regenerative Agriculture. Here’s Using The Rotavator Intelligently – Not Yet In The Books, Sorry

Last month, Friday, 23 Aug 2024, via Facebook exchange, I was challenged by PhilRice Founding Executive Director Santiago R Obien (SRO) to show him in an actual farm what good is any of the practices that belong to the so-called Regenerative Agriculture (RA), the term coined by American organic farmer Robert Rodale.

Note, Sir SRO: Today, I am looking for a volunteer farmer, or farm, where I can demonstrate my personally discovered rotavator technique to produce an unbelievably high yield of rice with an unbelievably low cost – no, no fertilizer of any kind, not even organic.
(image from Soil Master, soilmaster.com.tr)

I guarantee no expense on the part of the farmer. Farmer, if you are going to volunteer your farm, and if you already have a rotavator, that’s all we need. Ilocano ngarud! That’s an Ilocano!

Yes, among the rotavator makers of the world, as revealed by my continuous googling, the world of rotavation knowledge is still limited. Indeed, the way I will use the rotavator will create a rich trash mulch on the surface of the farm – and automatically spread it all over the field. You have to see it to believe it!

Even if the yield is comparatively low, you spend only for the fuel of your rotavator and even that, you cultivate your field at little expense.

Still, I guarantee you that the yield will be high, surprisingly high! Even shocking.

60 or so years ago, I recall Enso Casasos, our farmhand, when my father Lakay Disiong was instructing the big Howard rotavator operator what to do. I intervened and told the operator (I forgot to ask his name) to simply pass the machine over the field.

What happened? Many years later, on my visit to Asingan, Enso told me that when I instructed the Howard operator that way, he was smiling on one side of his face (“umisisem ti bangbangir”) – he was using very little fuel. Yet, surprise – the yield shot up!

Enso himself used his own rotavator to cultivate his field – following the example of the Howard rotavator with my instructions. What happens when the rotavator blades intelligently pass over the field? They cut those weeds and mix simultaneously with the soil pieces in the same rotary motion. Automatic organic mulch!

Enso told me his neighbor imitated what they saw him doing in his farming, everything, but they had never equaled his yields. Why? Because he did not tell them The Secret of the Rotavator that he had seen.

Today, the Secret of the Rotavator is still a secret because I have not shown it to anyone. That is why I need a volunteer farmer to show whether I am right or wrong. “If I am right, no one remembers. If I am wrong, no one forgets.” I want to revise that to this: “If I am right, no one forgets!”

Any volunteer farmer?
For you: “To see is to believe!”
For me: “To show is to make a believer!”@517

Yanmar, My Filipino Challenge To You Is Organic Rotavation – Y/our Advanced Xmas Gift To Millions Of Poor Farmers Worldwide!

Yanmar, addressing worldwide agriculture, your “Yanmar Smart Agriculture” digital campaign comes with this slogan: “Working together towards new forms of abundance” (yanmar.com). Now then, here is one new form of abundance from me, a UP Los Baños agriculturist!

Addressed globally, you say, “Comprehensive collection and analysis of various data ensures stable quality and yields, and contributes to labor-savings” (Yanmar Smart Agriculture, yanmar.com).

Yanmar, now, here’s smart agriculture:
A rotavator operating as an automatic organic mulch-maker!

“Yanmar Green Challenge 2050” (yanmar.com) – With that bold advertising at/for agriculture worldwide, you Yanmar seems to me a good candidate sponsor for my personal intellectual challenge to produce a seemingly impossible machine – a rotavator automatically producing an organic mulch at the same time that it is cultivating the field. I call it the “Rotavator Operating As Automatic Mulch-Maker” (ROAMer) – even as it rolls as it runs, it simultaneously & spontaneously creates an organic matter layer all over the field!
(images from yanmar.com)

Nope, that miracle rotavator does not exist yet; it lives only in my imagination. But 60 years ago, I already conceived of that organic rotavator – and I found that it worked according to what I thought. In my hometown Asingan, Pangasinan, we were cultivating the field in barangay Domanpot. The operator of the huge Howard rotavator did exactly what I told him to do. What happened was that my father’s field had a much bigger yield than the surrounding ricefields of friends! [Among other years, this year I wrote about it in this same blog you are reading this: “Multiple Intelligences – “Nature Smart” Rotavator For Doubling Harvests And At The Same Time Halving Costs Of Production! FAH Says” (07 July 2024, blogspot.com)].

Today, I am inviting Yanmar to sponsor a series of field techno demos for a project to produce the above-described ROAMer as the Yanmar Automatic – the successful design of which will be automatically Yanmar’s intellectual property when all our field tests show that it is as good as it claims it is.

The field tests will be at the PhilRice Los Baños Station, where lie also the headquarters of IRRI and UP Los Baños – their scientists will be invited to witness the tests and their results.

In the meantime, Yanmar is busy dealing with “the rotary tiller leveling performance” –

In order to predict and evaluate the rotary tiller leveling performance, the pile height of soil tilled by the rotary tiller was experimentally measured by a laser range scanner and estimated using the rotary tillage model… The comparison between the simulated and the experimental results indicated that this model was able to predict the pile shape of tilled soil.

Yanmar is intently studying the “piled shape of tilled soil” but not the organic matter-enriched pile! Yanmar doesn’t realize that.

Yanmar, with your own rotavator,  I will show you what you don’t know!

Yanmar, with y/our re-invented rotavator, farmers will have big harvests with little costs – no fertilizers to purchase.

Millions of farmers will be richer quicker – and so will Yanmar!@517

“Pro-Farmer, Filipino” – 2025 PH Voters Should Make Sure That Their Chosen Senatorial Candidates Are Concerned With The Poor Millions!

Here is friend Willie Villarama sending email 01:50 AM Saturday 05 Oct 2024 but I got it only this mid-morning Sunday 06 Oct – no problem. Delayed but not late. The subject of the 379-word message is “2025 Voters Education” (from me, from the original title):

“Voters Education For The CDE Economic Classes Hopefully With The Help Of The AB Groups.”
(image from dreamstime.com)

Ha! With the current chatter & clutter, claims & counter-claims from candidates and non-candidates, the candidates will be voices in the wilderness – if they don’t explain themselves!

Says the pro-Filipino email:

The plan highlights the need for influential groups to pressure the 70 senatorial candidates to participate in a unique experiment. In this experiment, the candidates would submit their biodata along with their work experiences and a brief essay outlining their proposed solutions to various social issues such as injustice, corruption, poverty, lack of education, and poor health services. This initiative aims to educate voters and encourage transparency and accountability among the candidates.

How to select only 12 out of 70 candidates for senator! The pre-election campaign calls for would-be voters to ask candidates about their solutions to “injustice, corruption, poverty, lack of education, and poor health services.” Which means if the candidate wants more votes, s/he will have to publicly state in advance how s/he plans to address any problem by way of policy or program or both. If s/he doesn’t say anything about any of those problems, either s/he is ignorant or unconcerned – which automatically makes her/him a candidate to be ignored in the 2025 elections!

“The plan,” says the email, is to hold a nationwide voters’ education as well as mock elections “to enhance public awareness and engagement.”

How many to elect? Inquirer says (inquirer.net):

The elections, to be held 12 May 2025, with about 68 million voters to elect over 18,000 officials: 12 senators, 254 district representatives, 63 party-list representatives, and 17,942 governors, provincial board members, mayors, and councilors. The election will also cover parliamentary positions in the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Repeat: “The plan highlights the need for influential groups to pressure the 70 senatorial candidates to participate in a unique experiment” – coming out with detailed plans to address injustice, corruption, poverty, lack of education, and poor health services.

Uniquely, I as a blogger will participate but not rely on (financial) help of the AB Groups – I will create a dedicated blog myself to help the 2025 elections become Pro-Farmer, Pro-Filipino. Uniquely, I will ask each of the 70 senatorial candidates one’s:

Vision of what is good for the Filipinos
Mission to help bring that Vision to reality
Strategy to fulfil that Mission.

First things first: The Vision will help determine the Mission that will determine the Strategy – not Strategy first or Mission first!

Last but not least: Why the “pro-farmer” special mention? Because there are 3,000,000 (3 million) poor Filipino farmers! If we don’t help them, who will? Right now, they don’t know how to help themselves.@517

Loyalty Day 2024 – How UPLB Loyalty Shifted From Loyalty To The Americans To Loyalty To Serving The People With Science

This is a story of shifting loyalties! And I UPLB alumnus can tell the story most credibly – because it was my writing that was the cause of it all. I, the writer that shook a whole 49-year old university!

The UP Oblation shown in the top image from the Facebook page of UPLB, shared by SEARCA, implies that UPLB’s Loyalty Day is now celebrated with wide openness. And whom do you think UPLB owes that to? Me, Frank A Hilario! Here’s the story.
(top image from unescoghana.gov.gh, lower image from Jerry Yapo’s Facebook sharing)

The history of UPLB Loyalty Day changed majorly starting 10 Oct 1967 when I, a BSA alumnus (major Ag Educ, 1965), came out with an open letter deploring the celebration, and I myself handed out copies to unsuspecting alumni coming in via the old carabao gate of the UP College of Agriculture (UPCA) now UP Los Baños. The letter was titled “What Did You Do In The War, Daddy?”

That letter explained, in so many words, that the 10 Oct 1918 volunteerism act of the faculty and students of UPCA was in fact a show of loyalty to America and not the Philippines, because World War I was occurring in Europe, nowhere near Asia.

As I did not expect, my letter caused outrage among the faculty and alumni of UPCA, especially among the Loyalty Day volunteers, and I got booted out from the teaching staff – my appointment as “Substitute Horiticulture Lab Instructor” was discontinued.

I brought that bad fate upon myself – where to go now? I applied to colleges of agriculture from Luzon to Mindanao, and Dean Fr William F Masterson of the Xavier University College of Agriculture. accepted me as lecturer in Horticulture. (Thank you, Fr Masterson!)

Undaunted, at Xavier, I wrote 4 original lecture syllabi for organic Horticulture: Floriculture (flowers), Landscape Horticulture, Ornamental Horticulture, and Pomology (fruit trees). Mind you: All Organic. And what happened? I am glad to tell you that 35 years later, my favorite organic believer Xavier student Nicanor “Nicky” Perlas Jr won the international Right Livelihood Award in 2003, said to be equivalent to the Nobel Peace Prize. (Thank you, also, Xavier!)

Wasn’t I an alumnus of UPCA/UPLB serving my country with honor, literally?!

I write this today, Saturday, 05 Oct 2024, “World Teachers Day,” and I can only say that my 1967 open letter that changed the nature of UPLB Loyalty Day from loyalty to the Americans to loyalty to the aims and aspirations of UP Los Baños, is a teachers’ lesson in being true to one’s calling. Miscued, the 1918 UPCA faculty and student volunteers must have damned me to high heavens!

Today, thinking about my alma mater initially rejecting my teaching it a lesson in loyalty to one’s calling, I have forgiven its act of betrayal to me.

Teachers Of Tomorrow (teachersoftomorrow.org) says the 1^st quality of a good teacher is being a “great communicator” – wasn’t I great with just a single open letter?!@517

Where Is PH’s “Vibrant Agriculture” That The World Bank Foresaw In 2020? Nowhere! Thus We See 3 Million Filipino Farmers Still Poor

On record, the World Bank was very enthusiastic about Philippine agriculture 4 years ago, seeing a “vibrant agriculture” in the islands (09 Sept 2020, “Philippines: Vibrant Agriculture is Key to Faster Recovery and Poverty Reduction,” (World Bank Group, worldbank.org):

“Manila, September 9, 2020 – Transforming Philippine agriculture into a dynamic, high-growth sector is essential for the country to speed up recovery, poverty reduction and inclusive growth, according to the latest report released by the World Bank.”
(image from freepik.com)

Titled “Transforming Philippine Agriculture During Covid-19 and Beyond,” the report says that transforming the country’s farming and food systems is even more important during the Covid-19 pandemic to ensure strong food value chains, affordable and nutritious food, and a vibrant rural economy.”

Emphasis: “A vibrant rural economy.”

"Modernizing the country’s agricultural sector is a very important agenda for the Philippines,” said Ndiame Diop, World Bank Country Director Brunei, Malaysia, Thailand, and the Philippines. “With the exception of a few small natural resource-rich countries, no country has successfully transitioned from middle- to high-income status without having achieved an effective transformation of their agri-food systems. Transforming agriculture and food systems is always challenging. But the country’s new vision for agriculture, it’s current thrust for diversification and use of modern technologies, and its effective management of food supply during this pandemic clearly indicate that the country is well-equipped to overcome the challenge.”

With “the country’s new vision for agriculture” … “the country is well-equipped to overcome the challenge” to transform agriculture from poor to rich.

That World Bank report was enthusiastically written in favor of PH Agriculture when William Dar was Secretary of Agriculture. Note that the World Bank mentions “the country’s new vision for agriculture” – Mr Dar came in as Secretary in 2019 with his “New Thinking” that I myself quoted thus on 26 Aug 2019 (“William Dar's 8 Paradigms For PH New Thinking For Agriculture,” Communication For Development, blogspot.com):

To realize the vision of President Duterte for a food-secure Philippines and to double the income of farmers and fisherfolk, I propose a strategy built around eight paradigms that also make up the "new thinking" for agriculture. The eight paradigms are:

(1) Modernization of agriculture
(2) Industrialization of agriculture
(3) Promotion of exports
(4) Farm consolidation
(5) Roadmap development
(6) Infrastructure development
(7) Higher budget and investments for agriculture, and
(8) Legislative support.

Wonderful!

Unfortunately, Mr Dar was unceremoniously replaced by President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr with BBM appointing himself as the new Secretary of Agriculture, and that new vision was not only dimmed but was extinguished.

As I Frank A Hilario am an agriculturist and conservationist think more of the 3 million Filipino farmers who are still poor, I insist that the Philippines needs indeed to continue its New Thinking in Agriculture and that BBM re-appoint Mr Dar as Secretary of Agriculture!

As of today, my country the Philippines is still asleep on its old thoughts about agriculture – wake up, BBM!@517